William L. Dawson (politician)

William Dawson
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Illinois's 1st district
In office January 3, 1943 – November 9, 1970
Preceded by	Arthur Mitchell
Succeeded by	Ralph Metcalfe
Member of the Chicago City Council
In office 1933 – April 12, 1939
Preceded by	Louis B. Anderson
Succeeded by	Earl B. Dickerson
Constituency	2nd Ward
Personal details
Born	William Levi Dawson (1886-04-26)April 26, 1886 Albany, Georgia, U.S.
Died	November 9, 1970(1970-11-09) (aged 84) Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Political party	Republican (Before 1939) Democratic (1939–1970)
Spouse	Nelle Brown
Children	2
Education	Albany State University Fisk University (BA) Northwestern University (LLB)
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch/service	United States Army
Years of service	1917–1919
Rank	First Lieutenant
Unit	366th Infantry Regiment
Battles/wars	World War I

William Levi Dawson (April 26, 1886 – November 9, 1970) was an American politician and lawyer who represented a Chicago, Illinois district for more than 27 years in the United States House of Representatives, serving from 1943 to his death in office in 1970. In 1949, he became the first African American to chair a congressional committee.^[1]

Born in segregated Georgia, Dawson attended Fisk University in Tennessee and Northwestern University School of Law in Chicago. He served as an officer in the segregated U.S. Army in World War I. Back in Chicago, he became a successful lawyer, community leader, and Democratic Party activist.

Like his two predecessors representing Illinois' 1st District, when Dawson was first elected in 1942, he was the only African American in Congress. He was active in the civil rights movement and sponsored registration drives. In the late 1940s he successfully opposed efforts to re-segregate the military.

Dawson was the first African American to chair a standing committee in the United States Congress, when he chaired the Committee on Expenditures in the Executive Departments. He served as chair of that committee and its successor for most of the years between 1949 and 1970. After 1952, Dawson also became closely aligned with the political machine in Chicago, collaborating often with Mayor Richard J. Daley. In this role, he focused on patronage and services for his constituents. He gave no support to the efforts of Martin Luther King Jr. to shake up city politics in the late 1960s.^[2]